Importance of Early Childhood Education in Indonesia

Preliminary

The first years of life span of children is a very important and critical in terms of growth and development of physical, mental, and psychosocial, which runs so fast that the success of the first years to a large extent determine the future of children. Any abnormalities or deviations if not intervened early well in time, and not be detected in real get care that is full of promotive, preventive, and rehabilitative would affect subsequent growth and development of children (Sunarwati, 2007).

Providing education in early childhood in developed countries as a form of long-standing community-based education (community-based education), but the movement to promote education in Indonesia is just emerging in recent years. It is based on the importance of early childhood education to prepare people in Indonesia complete (SWEET), and build the future of children and the Indonesian society (MASIS). But so far the reach of early childhood education is still limited in terms of quantity and accessibility. For example, child care and play groups are still concentrated in the cities. Yet when viewed from the level of need for treatment early, early age children in rural areas and from poor families is much higher in order to compensate for poor intellectual stimulation, social, and moral of the family and parents.

The Government has demonstrated its political will develop their human resources in early. As Mrs. Megawati delivered (vice-president at the time) when I opened the Conference Centre The Association of Consecrated VII Kindergarten Teacher Indonesia. He emphasized the importance of early childhood education in the concept of coaching and development of children attributed the formation of fully human characters. Furthermore he states could no longer deny that the education of children in early childhood is the basis for determining the formation of human character Indonesia in the national life.

This statement states that early childhood education is crucial for the survival of the nation, and need serious attention from the government. Early childhood education is a human resource development strategies should be viewed as a central point since the establishment of the nation's character and reliability determined how the cultivation of human resources since early childhood. The importance of education in this period so it is often called the golden age (the golden age).

2.1 Definition of Early Childhood Education

Early childhood education (early childhood) is the level of education before basic education which is a construction effort that is intended for children from birth until the age of six years conducted through the provision of educational stimulation to assist the growth and development of physical and spiritual readiness in order to have a child entering further education, which was held in formal, nonformal, and informal.

Early childhood education is one form of education that focuses on laying the foundation to the growth and physical development (fine and gross motor coordination), intellect (the intellect, creativity, emotional intelligence, spiritual intelligence), socio-emotional (attitude and behavior as well as religious) language and communication, according to the uniqueness and developmental stages through which early childhood.

Currently the field of educational science, psychology, medicine, psychiatry, growing very rapidly. This situation has opened up new insights to the understanding of children and changing the way child care and education. Every child has many forms of intelligence (Multiple Intelligences) which, according to Howard Gardner there are eight domains of intelligence or intelligence that is common to all people, including children. The eight domains of intelligence that is music, bodily-kinesthetic, logical mathematical, linguistic (verbal), spatial, naturalist, interpersonal and intrapersonal.

Multiple Intelligences grown need to be explored and developed by giving opportunities for children to develop optimally potentials possessed of his own effort (Tientje, 2000).

2.2 Importance of Early Childhood Education in Developing Nations Future

Condition of Indonesia's human resources based on results of a survey conducted by PERC (Political and Economic Risk Consultancy) in March 2002 shows the quality of education in Indonesia is ranked 12th, the lowest in the ASEAN region which is below the level of Vietnam. Kualtias low educational outcomes are low impact on human resource kualtias Indonesia.

In these conditions must be difficult for Indonesia to be able to compete with other nations. Human resource development conducted in developed countries like the United States, Germany, Japan and so on, beginning with early childhood development that includes care, upbringing and education as a whole and implemented programs in an integrated manner. Understanding the importance of early childhood development as a basic step for the development of human resources has also been done by other ASEAN nations such as Thailand, Singapore, South Korea including industrial countries. Even early childhood education services in Singapore belonging to the most advanced when compared to other ASEAN countries.

In Indonesia the implementation of early childhood is still impressed by the new exclusive and reach a small portion of society. Although various treatments and educational programs for early childhood ages (0-6 years) have been implemented in Indonesia since a long time, but until the year 2000 showed children aged 0-6 years who obtain care services and education is still low. Data from 2001 showed that approximately 26.2 jut children aged 0-6 years who have obtained early education services through a variety of new programs about 4.5 million children (17%). The highest contribution through BKB (9.5%), Kindergarten (6.1%), Raudhatul Atfal (1.5%). Meanwhile, through child care and play groups each contribution is very small at around 1% and 0.24%.

The low education and care services for young children at this time partly due to the limited jumla agencies that provide early education services when compared with the number of children aged 0-6 years are supposed to obtain these services. Various programs are either directly (through BKB and IHC), which has been pursued so far has not turned out to provide services as a whole, not synergy between the ministry and not yet integrated aspects of education, health and nutrition. Though these three aspects are will determine the level of intellectuality, of intelligence and child development.

The importance of early childhood education has become the international attention. In a meeting of the World Education Forum in Dakar Senegal in 2000 produced six agreements as a framework of action education for all and one egg is to expand and improve the overall care and early childhood education, especially for children who are particularly vulnerable and disadvantaged, Indonesia as one one member of the forum is bound to implement this commitment.

International attention to the urgency of early childhood education is reinforced by the latest research on the brain. By the time the baby is born of God he is equipped with a complete brain structure, but only reaches maturity after outside the womb. Newborn babies have more than 100 billion neurons and about one trillion glial cells which function as adhesive and synap (branches of neurons) which will form bertrilyun-trillion connections between neurons that exceeded requirements. Synap this will work until the age of 5-6 years. A large number of connections that affect the formation of the brain's ability throughout his life. Growth in the number of brain tissue affected by the child's experience gained in the early years of his life, particularly pleasant experience. In the phase of this development will have tremendous potential in developing language skills, math, thinking skills, emotional stability and formation.

There are four main considerations the importance of early childhood education, namely: (1) to prepare qualified manpower, (2) encourage the acceleration of economic turnaround and low social costs because of high labor productivity and durability, (3) increase equity in public life, ( 4) helping parents and children.

Early childhood education not only serves to provide learning experiences to children, but more importantly serves to optimize brain development. Early childhood education should also cover the entire process of psychosocial stimulation and is not limited to the learning process that occurs in educational institutions. That is, early childhood education can take place anywhere and anytime as well as human interactions that occur within the family, peers, and of social relations in accordance with the conditions and early childhood development.

2.3 Early Childhood Development

Most of society believes that providing early childhood education be conducted by adults who do not require knowledge of early childhood. In addition, they consider early childhood does not require professionalism. Pandangn is wrong.

If early childhood to be done at home by mothers themselves, then the mothers need to learn and gain knowledge about children's learning processes, for example by reading a book, follow the lectures or seminars on early childhood.

In fact more and more mothers work outside the home, therefore it must be someone who replaced the mother's role to understand the process of development of the child.

Learning in early childhood is a learning process which is done through play. There are five essential characteristics of play in relation to early childhood (Hughes, 1999), namely: increased motivation, free choice (without coercion), non-linear, fun and players are actively involved.

When playing one of the criteria are not met a teacher dominates the class by making an example and given to the child so the learning process is no longer through play. Teaching and learning process as it makes the teachers are not sensitive to the level of difficulty experienced by each child.

The lack of difficulty the child's parents may also occur, the main reason put forward is usually due to lack of time because parents work outside the home.

Understanding child development can be done through the interaction and interdependence between parents and teachers who continue to do so extracting the potential intelligence of children can be optimal. Interaction is done by teachers and parents understand child development and basic skills that need to have a child at least, that is musical, bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, linguistic, spatial, interpersonal and intrapersonal, because in general all people have seven intelligences, of varying levels of scale .

2.4 Role of Parents in Early Childhood Education

Children are the embodiment of loving adults who are ready or not to become parents. Having a child, ready or not, change many things in life, and ultimately want to or not we are required to be ready to be parents should be able to prepare our children to be able to run their future lives as well.

Know, know, understand the world of children is not something easy. The world is colorful, beautiful world that everything, easy, cheerful, loving, full of wonder and full of surprises. World that should be owned by any children yet in kepemilikanya much dependent on the role of parents.

Experts agree that parents are so great role in helping children to be ready to enter the gates of their lives. This means that if the gate to talk about their lives, it will discuss prospects for the coming 20-25 years of their lives. In the year that they enter real life. Go to the full independence, into the world of those who are supposed to be independent full regardless of the parents where the decisions of their lives had to be done alone. This is where the role of parents has been greatly reduced and as a parent, at that point we can only see the fruits of our upbringing now, without being able to make any changes.

Why do parents need to enhance their intellectual development in preparation for school entrance? The answer, the school currently require a fairly high requirements of quality of a student. Still get students who enter elementary school has introduced a wide range of subjects and science early on. Children already have to have high creativity since childhood. Therefore, children who have a high intellect will more easily accept everything that is taught. They will have high confidence, more adaptable, more easily accept new things, or intellectual development can be developed further before they go to school. Conditions like that that puts parents first and foremost as a teacher for their children in informal education programs that occurred in the family environment.

2.5 Problems of Early Childhood Education

Entering the XXI century education in Indonesia faced three major challenges. First, as a result of multiple crises that hit Indonesia since 1997, the education required to maintain the results of educational development has been achieved. Second, in anticipation of the era of globalization, the education required to prepare qualified human resources, so as to compete in the global job market. Third, in line with regional autonomy, there should be changes and adjustments to the national education system, so it can realize a more democratic educational process, taking into account the diversity of potential, local needs, learners, and encourage increased community participation.

The problem is the unpreparedness of the nation's third challenge facing Indonesia at the top, due to the low quality of human resources. To face that challenge, it takes serious effort through early education that is able to lay the foundations of human empowerment in order to have self-awareness of the potential and can develop it for the needs of self, society and nation so as to form a civil society. Early childhood education is the most fundamental thing that done as early as possible and implemented a comprehensive and integrated. Comprehensive, meaning that the services provided to children include education, health and nutrition. Integrated connote not only services provided in early childhood, but also to families and society as a whole service.

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